More than 100 billion WhatsApp messages were sent via the Facebook-owned platform on New Year's Eve - more than any other day in the app's history.

Axar.az reports citing Independent that of this staggering hoard of virtual messages, more than 12 billion were images.

The record-breaking figure marks a new high in the popularity of the app as it continues to spread around the world.

It is available in most countries, with China being the only notable exception.

Despite lacking the more than a billion citizens of China, the gargantuan total of messages is equivalent to every person Earth sending more than 13 messages.